Kerry, Hagel confront historic rivalry

Old friends John Kerry and Chuck Hagel may not always find themselves on the same team in the Obama Cabinet.

The relationship between the State and Defense departments has historically ranged from strained to outright hostile, with their agendas often at odds.

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But Kerry, the new secretary of state, and Hagel, the nominee for secretary of defense, may be uniquely positioned to bring the departments closer together.

“Defense basically deals with massive amounts of money, global military action, is crisis-focused and confrontation-focused. State has to deal with every country in the world on a civil, political and, to some extent, security level. … So you have natural competition,” explained Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Every institution to some extent is going to be the competitor of other institutions. You have always your own internal parochial structure.”

Government agencies are also fighting for pieces of the same budgetary pie, Cordesman said, though Defense Department spending hugely overshadows that of the State Department.

Tensions between the agencies are well-documented, Cordesman said, but conflict occurs more often among staffers than presidential appointees. The Cabinets of President George W. Bush and Richard Nixon, though, sometimes offered a rarer clash.

“In many ways, the problems that occurred between [Secretary of State Colin] Powell and [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld were much more the anomaly than the pattern,” said Cordesman, who frequently consults for both departments. “There are often tensions, particularly at the staff level, but usually the problems don’t occur at the level of the Cabinet member — although certainly Henry Kissinger and James Schlesinger did not get along.”

Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska, had a strong record of collaboration in the Senate, despite their party labels. The fellow Vietnam veterans also co-founded the think tank American Security Project.

A collegial relationship prior to their confirmations doesn’t guarantee a good State-Defense relationship, as with Rumsfeld and Powell. But Cordesman said it’s likely to be an asset for Kerry and Hagel.

“They know how to work together and are people who by their very nature really don’t care about turf fights,” he said. “They know that they have as much of a challenge in terms of dealing with the Congress and [the White House Office of Management and Budget] in the face of sequestration and other financial challenges.”

“They’re more likely to work together in any given case than usual,” Cordesman said, “simply because they’re going to be pushed together.”

Congressional Democrats point to Hagel and Kerry’s friendship as a sign they could strengthen the relationship between State and Defense.

“When it comes to protecting our country and representing our interests abroad, cooperation between the State and Defense departments is essential,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.